Defy
Chapter 17
Author Notes: Time for the second half of Jyugo and Musashi's backstory. I can only hope it goes well. Get comfy, because this is going to be a long one. I do not own Nanbaka.
3rd P.O.V-Seven Years Ago...
It was a stormy night, the waves crashed harshly at Nanba Prison's walls and lightning rang through the sky. Momoko was going through her papers, though she was distracted. Mitsuru who had been with her to help with documenting reports noticed immediately.
"What's up? It's not like you to be like this-unless of course you finally found the man of your dreams?!" A book goes flying, nailing him square in the head. "Shut up! It's not like that!"
A lovely flush flows all throughout her body, tinting her usually peach skin red. "Then what's going on-I've never seen you daydream." They had been friends for ages, ever since their high school days.
Who would've thought that two good friends would one day be running a high end prison floating on a man made island? "I got a letter from Himiko." Now that was a name he hadn't heard from in at least a decade.
"How's she doing?" He had heard she had settled down and had a family, not that he knew personally-since he didn't bother attending their school reunions. Momoko and Himiko were good friends despite not seeing each other all that much.
Both of them had their own lives, though they constantly called each other and sent letters back and forth. So the Nanba security guard really didn't get why the letter kept her so unfocused.
Sighing the blue haired woman interlaced her fingers together as she looks down. Her desk so clean and sparkling she could see her own concerned expression. "Not good, she's sending her son and a friend of her son my way."
Mitsuru sputtered, shock evident even through his glasses. "What!? Why?" She herself had no idea, as the contents in the message were purposely kept vague. "I don't know, I expect the children will be able to explain themselves when they arrive." That only brought on one single question.
"Well when are they supposed to get here?" Again she had no clue, all she knew was to soon expect visitors. Then all of a sudden they hear a series of knocks on her office doors. "Yipe!" Mitsuru jolted from his spot.
Leaving his superior to roll her eyes and shake her head at his cowardice. "Enter." At her command out stepped Hajime. "Warden apologies for the inconvenience." Her heart began beating fast as he stood proud and tall before her, hands behind his back.
He was just hired, and oof did his cool calm gaze send shivers down her spine. "What is it?" He shifts, revealing two kids held by the backs of their shirts. "I found these two brats in front of Nanba's doors...what should I do with them?" The timing couldn't be more perfect.
"Hey let us go baldy!" Both kids were soaked to the bone and shivering, still the young girl had enough bite to fight, not that she got very far as her and her male companion were dropped painfully onto the ground.
They groaned, not expecting the scary looking guard to let them go the way he did. "You need an attitude adjustment little girl. Watch it before I fix it." She squeaked before hiding before her friend, still shivering from the cold in addition to Hajime cracking his knuckles.
"Enough. I take it you are the two children Himiko sent?" The taller boy nodded, still rather cautious of the strange adults standing before them. "Yeah, I'm her son Zen, this is my best friend and little sister Aki." She huffed, crossing her arms in an attempt to stay warm.
Zen couldn't help but give a small smile as she tried to toughen it out. This was the most emotion she's shown in awhile. "Well then, Mitsuru do you mind going with Hajime and grabbing some clothes for our new little guests? I would like to talk to them privately."
The two men salute before leaving to accomplish her request. "Now Zen, I got your mother's letter, but I'll admit that I am still unclear on the situation going on. She purposely left her message incomplete, so i would like you to explain things to me." The two children shared a glance.
A silent conversation passing through. "I'll do my best." For the longest time his parents had done whatever they could to ensure he remained unaware of just how bad things were, but there was just no controlling how observant he was.
And eventually they had no choice but to tell him everything. He was still young, so it was difficult for him to truly explain the case to this stern looking stranger. Aki was gripping his pant leg, her previous snark lost in a web of traumatic memories.
"Hajime, Mitsuru, and Kenshirou who had to hand in a report came in during his explanation of their circumstances. At the time I was unsure of what to do, as they literally came into my life and left me little time to prepare."
She could only shrug as she spoke. "The best I could do at the time was suggest they create new identities for themselves. Kenshirou before he came to work under me was a police officer, and had strong connections. So I asked for his aid in making Jyugo and Musashi come to life." She sighed, feeling fatigued.
Looking back on things, she's not sure if she would've had a better plan or stuck with what she had. The pressure was on as news soon reached her ears of Himiko's demise alongside her husband.
Seeing Aki cry and shut down when she was told only strengthened Momoko's resolve to take care of them. Though was what she's done so far been enough? She didn't seem to think so as she misjudged Elf and allowed Aki to get hurt not once but twice in her own prison.
"I couldn't raise them in Nanba, I was still an inexperienced Warden who constantly had those in the government keeping tabs on me and my staff to ensure we did our work. So Zen or I should say Musashi took it upon himself to take care of Jyugo, both moving to a small apartment complex in Tokyo."
Many of the Supervisors remembered those days. Back then many of them were low class guards or had a different occupation in the divisions. And all of them were under the constant pressures of political and government officials dropping in to harass Momoko and them.
They were so happy when they finally decided to leave them to their work. "I would keep in contact with the two as well as send them money each month while they lived their lives." She paused a moment, raising an eyebrow as Goku opened and closed his mouth. She waved a hand, letting him speak.
"I get the need to give them new identities but why make her Jyugo? Why a guy?" Hajime rolled his eyes, it was an obvious answer to him, so he answered in her stead, turning everyone's attention on him.
"Elf was looking for his female fiancee. With her rough personality we all figured it was easier and safer for her to hide by pretending to be a male." And with his gender and name came his backstory and appearance.
Something that Mitsuru had a lot of fun with, as he was in charge of their makeover. "Anyways for a couple months things seemed to be going fine as Musashi was able to find a stable job and Jyugo was adapting to his new life. But trouble always seemed to find them."
One day, Musashi collapsed, horribly ill to the point where he was bedridden. Even though they were able to change her name, gender and past, they couldn't change her age. No one could or would hire her because of the minor laws Japan had.
So he had no extra money to help pay for Musashi's medicine, and Jyugo was scared telling Momoko, worried she'd trouble the lady who already did so much for them. So Jyugo as terrible as he felt about the idea, decided to steal the money so her brother could be taken care of.
His first time nearly gave him a heart attack as the guilt and adrenaline kicked in, but as he continued improving his theft skills his conscience nagged him less and less. Especially when he found his elder brother recovering slowly but surely thanks to his efforts.
"I didn't know what was going on and worried when after a month neither of them called me. So I took emergency leave for a week, only to find Musashi in the hospital, and Jyugo missing." Eventually the young boy's luck had run out and was caught.
Sent to juvenile hall, only to escape not even an hour later, since she was easily able to identify the locks belonging to her fathers' company. "From there the dreaded game of me and Musashi trying to find Jyugo as he was always on the run from the police ensued."
Those days were what brought on Momoko's reputation as the She-demon of Nanba Prison. As her constant worries of trying to find Jyugo and frustration had brought forth a violent streak she had never shown up until then.
Many saw first hand the damage she could do as many were rushed to the medical area for being at the wrong place at the wrong time. "Musashi decided to follow his idiotic ass and found himself locked up in jail as well, escaping himself in the hopes of beating me."
The flame haired boy had no excuses, he knew it was stupid. "It worked though. I ran into Jyugo several times in jail, and was even able to contact you about it." A low growl rumbled in her throat.
"But by then there was nothing I could do to help you two! Because of your constant break outs you were deemed highly dangerous, reputable criminals! Even if I wanted to try and bail you out I couldn't due to how unpredictable you could be!" He could only give the warden a sheepish grin.
Apologizing a few years too late. "Anyways, I was pretty much useless as the two lived their lives in and out of jail, but things seemed to be going well as Jyugo when he Did get ahold of me told me of the adventures he underwent and the friends he made."
Her gaze instantly landing the the trio of colorful prisoners at the mention. "Things went downhill when Jyugo was thirteen, and was locked up in Germany alongside Musashi." She looked down at the floor, her red orbs for eyes glowing as she recalled what happened.
"Elf despite Aki's disappearance hunted her down, traveling all over the world for leads on her. Though he found nothing on her, he did manage to somehow get ahold of Zen's information and after a bit of time was able to connect Zen to Musashi." It was in the dead of winter.
Snow was falling in the late hours of the night when Elf snuck his way to Musashi's cell. He didn't at all realize his cellmate Jyugo was Aki, and only focused his attention on Zen. "He attacked Musashi, demanding to know where Aki was and to hand her over to him, as if she were some toy."
Of course he refused to give in to Elf's demands and fought him. The scuffle awoke a sleeping Jyugo who found himself frozen in fear. Even though it was a couple years ago, Musashi remembered it as if it took place yesterday, his fingers brushing the blindfold covering his eyes.
"The fight between me and him lasted awhile, and I was putting him on the defensive. Seeing Jyugo huddled in the corner, he leaped, throwing me off my game. I protected him, becoming a human shield between the two." That was probably what hinted that Aki was Jyugo to Elf.
But Musashi couldn't be sure, and he had no intention of asking Elf, he would rather beat him to a bloody pulp. "He got good swipe down my face, and turned the tables on me." It was hard to recall what happened after Elf managed to slice his cheek.
According to Jyugo, Elf had slashed at his eyes, wanting to pay him back for all the trouble he and Aki caused him. Not too long after Musashi passed out, unable to handle the extreme pain he was in. But as Elf was about to actually make an attempt in killing him, the guards had finally rushed over hearing the commotion.
Elf had fled, with the promise that he was going to finish what he started with Musashi and take Aki away. Jyugo stayed by her fellow inmates side becoming Aki for just a few days before she broke out of jail, sporting several shiny shackles tightly wrapped around her limbs from then on.
The story Jyugo told anyone curious enough to ask was that a mysterious man had come and attached those to his body, with no reason why. When in reality, the truth was that Aki herself placed them on her limbs and neck.
It was her own way of punishing herself for letting her brother get hurt so badly as well as a reminder not to get close to anyone ever again. She swore that she would never involve anyone, so that no one would ever try to sacrifice themselves for her sake.
However the deed was already done as she had already met and friended Rock, Nico and Uno at different occasions. Unaware that she had touched their lives and became important to each of them.
" Funnily enough with all his jail busting Jyugo had run out of jails and countries to hide in, so when he was arrested earlier this year, he was automatically sent to Nanba, under my custody. Where all of this began-and where it will all end." That concluded the rest of Jyugo, Musashi and Momoko's tale.
Leaving Momoko out of breath as she had been talking for so long. "Musashi had arrived shortly after Jyugo, and I assigned them to the two guard supervisors who had been involved since the beginning and who since then became my top two strongest protectors of Nanba." Both men bow in respect.
Their cheeks a light pink, honored with her unexpected praise. "The rest you all know. Now that that's out of the way, I have some hunting to do. Hajime, you and Kenshirou are to keep your inmates together and are given permission to subdue Elf by any means necessary."
That was just the order Hajime had been waiting for. Kenshirou kept his composure, but felt the same way, and bowed to his beloved warden. Her attention changed gears, circling around to meet the rest of the individuals present. Guards, prisoners, it mattered not, this was a command for them all.
"The rest of you are to return to your posts. Not one word I've said today is to reach anyone elses ears. Keep your eyes peeled for anything suspicious. And No one is to work or move solo, as Elf is still armed and highly dangerous-that is all."
To be continued
Author Notes: Man these explanation/flashback chapters get long, but I have to pat myself on the back for this one~ I really don't have any plot holes(that i can see anyways) for this story...Now i just need to make sure i don't choke on the ending.
Pray I don't do that! But that's it for now, guys if you like this series so far please feel free to fav/follow/review as it brings me joy knowing someone likes my work! Tchao for now.